Jimmy Reid: 'a rat race is for rats'

He was an outstanding union leader, not least because of his powers of oratory. He would undoubtedly have made a great MP, though he failed to get elected (losing as Labour candidate to a Scot Nat).

He became a fine journalist, writing opinion columns for a variety of newspapers. He also hosted a TV chat show, The Reid Report, and presented a series of documentaries Reid about the USSR, which won two BAFTAs.

He helped to establish the bi-monthly magazine, Scottish Left Review, and his death was announced by its editorial board.

The announcement said of the man born in Govan and raised in the Gorbals that he was "a fine writer and journalist" who "foresaw developments and opportunities in mass communication."

The magazine's associate editor Bob Thomson spoke of his long-time friend Reid as "a courageous and steadfast fighter for working people and their families."

He also mentioned his famous "rat race" inaugural speech as rector of Glasgow University in 1972. Here's a reminder of the key passage:

A rat race is for rats. We're not rats. We're human beings. Reject the insidious pressures in society that would blunt your critical faculties to all that is happening around you, that would caution silence in the face of injustice lest you jeopardise your chances of promotion and self-advancement.

This is how it starts, and, before you know where you are, you're a fully paid-up member of the rat pack. The price is too high.